Five Nights at Freddy's inspires a Fallout: New Vegas mod

We know the vaults in the Fallout games weren't really designed as shelters to protect people from nuclear war. They were actually intended to serve as sites for various wicked experiments to be performed upon their inhabitants. Well, a new vault has just been discovered, Vault 5, and it's the site of one of the cruelest experiments yet. The Five Nights at Vault 5 mod is a grueling and terrifying test of endurance, reflexes, and stealth, and you're not going to be getting a wink of sleep.

Based on the idea of Five Nights at Freddy's, when you enter Vault 5 (you can find it on your map, all the way north and just about centered) you'll find a console with an foreboding message and explanation of the rules. When you enter the arena, you're stripped of all your gear, including any meds or first-aid, and only given a Vault 5 suit and an explosive collar around you neck. You can't get back out until the night is over. Alarmed yet?

You have about thirty seconds to explore the arena, which is a series of darkened connected corridors, doors you can operate, and a few computer consoles. When the night begins, Mr. Handy robots will spawn from specific points (you can see them beforehand) and begin searching for you. Rather than sitting in a single room, as in the FNAF games, you are free to move about the arena as the robots try to track you down.

If a robot spots you, it'll charge, and I do mean charge. A bugle call will play, which helps you realize that you've been spotted, but these robots are fast, yo. Incredibly fast. You have very little time to react, and if it hits you, the explosive collar around your neck detonates, killing you instantly.

It's really startling when it happens, and it happened to me a lot, and it scared the crap out of me each and every time. Your best bet is to follow a robot around the maze, since they can't see directly behind themselves, while keeping a careful eye out for the others. You won't be able to shadow the robots constantly, however, because there's another threat: radiation. Periodically during the night, an alarm will sound and thirty seconds later radiation will begin creeping into the arena. It becomes deadly very quickly, and the only way to shut it off is by finding a specific console, which will be glowing red and beeping, and shutting it down.

It's not hard to find the correct console, but it does mean letting the robots out of your sight, and once you lose track of them it can be tricky finding them again before they find you. The whole experience is tense and extremely jarring if you should happen to walk around a corner and find a bugle-playing robot lunging at you.

If you've got your wits about you, you can try to close a door to prevent the robot from detonating your collar. You have to be quick, though, lightning quick, and the doors won't save you for long. Shutting a door also results in a burst of radiation, and doors only stay shut for a few seconds before opening again. This Vault is not messing around.

As you'd guess, there are five nights you have to survive to win, and each night is more difficult than the last. Good luck, Vault Dweller. You're gonna need it.

Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring stories in RPGs so he can make up his own.